Is it just me or does new hip-hop suck.  Maybe because I grew up with 80's and 90's hip hop with raw beats and good lyrics.  Essentially, most hip hop from the 2000's stinks.  What happened to good lyrics people? Every song is about a club, money, and gold/platinum teeth.  And you can't even understand what those goofy southern rappers are saying.

Okay, some 00's beat are good, but the lyrics are bad!  Maybe that i why it is called Hip Hop now instead of Rap because they new people cannot rap.

Lets do a quick comparison.........
80's / 90's
Eric B. and Rakim, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Notorious Big, Tupac, Run DMC, Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube, NWA, EARLY JayZ.

00's
JayZ, Common, Missy Elliott, Black Eyed Peas (I guess), Pitbull (haha), Ying Yang Twins (haha), T-Pain (in my ears).

If you agree let me know.  If you disagree, please let me know why.  You may be correct. I just need help understanding.

All Hip-Hop sucks.  Just my opinion though

80s/90s ~ Vanilla Ice, Everlast (When he was a member of Rhyme Syndicate), Marky Mark, Insane Clown Posse.


00s ~ Eminem, Ludacris, T.I., Kanye West.

There is good and bad in every decade.

Is it just me or does new hip-hop suck.  Maybe because I grew up with 80's and 90's hip hop with raw beats and good lyrics.  Essentially, most hip hop from the 2000's stinks.  What happened to good lyrics people? Every song is about a club, money, and gold/platinum teeth.  And you can't even understand what those goofy southern rappers are saying.

Okay, some 00's beat are good, but the lyrics are bad!  Maybe that i why it is called Hip Hop now instead of Rap because they new people cannot rap.

Lets do a quick comparison.........
80's / 90's
Eric B. and Rakim, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Notorious Big, Tupac, Run DMC, Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube, NWA, EARLY JayZ.

00's
JayZ, Common, Missy Elliott, Black Eyed Peas (I guess), Pitbull (haha), Ying Yang Twins (haha), T-Pain (in my ears).

If you agree let me know.  If you disagree, please let me know why.  You may be correct. I just need help understanding.



I didn't grow up on Hip-Hop first off. I remember I was mostly into the Grunge, Euro-Dance, Shawn Colvin and Lisa Loeb and The Gin Blossoms(1994-1996/1997.) Than I dicscovered Hip-Hop in 1998 and your right todays hip-hop does suck expect for Kanye West's and Nas's stuff. I rather listen to Grandmasterflash and The Furious Five than the stuff that comes out now. I like "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.

Todays Hip-Hop(2006-2008 period) is so sanatized forget about it. Its way too mass marketed. Hip-Hop was still listenable in 2004(still not as good as 80's/90's rap though) but I can't stand the ringstone rap stuff that comes out now currently. In 2004 remember when you had songs like "Why?" by Anthony Hamilton and Jadakiss and "Jesus Walks" By Kanye West?

Is it just me or does new hip-hop suck.  Maybe because I grew up with 80's and 90's hip hop with raw beats and good lyrics.  Essentially, most hip hop from the 2000's stinks.  What happened to good lyrics people? Every song is about a club, money, and gold/platinum teeth.  And you can't even understand what those goofy southern rappers are saying.

Okay, some 00's beat are good, but the lyrics are bad!  Maybe that i why it is called Hip Hop now instead of Rap because they new people cannot rap.

Lets do a quick comparison.........
80's / 90's
Eric B. and Rakim, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Notorious Big, Tupac, Run DMC, Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube, NWA, EARLY JayZ.

00's
JayZ, Common, Missy Elliott, Black Eyed Peas (I guess), Pitbull (haha), Ying Yang Twins (haha), T-Pain (in my ears).

If you agree let me know.  If you disagree, please let me know why.  You may be correct. I just need help understanding.






I'm not a huge hip-hop fan either, but I would say that '80s and '90s rap is alot better than today's.

Is it just me or does new hip-hop suck.  Maybe because I grew up with 80's and 90's hip hop with raw beats and good lyrics.  Essentially, most hip hop from the 2000's stinks.  What happened to good lyrics people? Every song is about a club, money, and gold/platinum teeth.  And you can't even understand what those goofy southern rappers are saying.

Okay, some 00's beat are good, but the lyrics are bad!  Maybe that i why it is called Hip Hop now instead of Rap because they new people cannot rap.

Lets do a quick comparison.........
80's / 90's
Eric B. and Rakim, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Notorious Big, Tupac, Run DMC, Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube, NWA, EARLY JayZ.

00's
JayZ, Common, Missy Elliott, Black Eyed Peas (I guess), Pitbull (haha), Ying Yang Twins (haha), T-Pain (in my ears).

If you agree let me know.  If you disagree, please let me know why.  You may be correct. I just need help understanding.


I can't actually believe I'm replying to this thread, but an injustice has been done and it must be rectified.

Today's 'Hip-Hop' is nothing more than a meal ticket for a plethora of thugs with nothing better to talk about than how hard they hit their women and just how many carats the gold chain around their neck carries.

Rap.. from the late 80's through to the mid 90's had a message which really carried weight. The work that people such as Chuck. D, Joseph Simmons, Andre Young and Percy Miller did to RE-enfranchise millions of poor and demoralized people all over the country, nay, world is a testament to the spirit that resides in all of us when we choose to do something with our abilities.

I forgot Eminem, Kanye West and Ludicris for the 2000's.

Davey Thrashmister - great points.  I agree!

I forgot Eminem, Kanye West and Ludicris for the 2000's.

Davey Thrashmister - great points.  I agree!



Those guys are not too bad, want bad listen to some Soulja Boy or Hurricane Chris!

Well you obviously haven't heard San Antonio Spurs player Tony Parker rap in French...  ;D

http://media.canal-plus.com/image/33/2/39332.jpg

Yeah soulja boy, hurrican chris, ti.. all those are MC posers

But not all 2000's rap / hip hop sucks

theres been some good stuff coming out in nyc and even in the mainstream with lupe fiasco

i stay listining to nas the old and new and Wu tang clan came out with a new Album ...

All Hip-Hop sucks.  Just my opinion though


I concur. I'm more of an 80s / 90s soul rnb man myself.

Hip hop nowadays relies too much on already popular samples - zero creativity. Rapping as an artform should be used to enhance a song - not to be the entire purpose of the song.

All Hip Hop sucks.

50 cent sucks.

I didn't grow up on Hip-Hop first off. I remember I was mostly into the Grunge, Euro-Dance, Shawn Colvin and Lisa Loeb and The Gin Blossoms(1994-1996/1997.) Than I dicscovered Hip-Hop in 1998 and your right todays hip-hop does suck expect for Kanye West's and Nas's stuff. I rather listen to Grandmasterflash and The Furious Five than the stuff that comes out now. I like "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.

Todays Hip-Hop(2006-2008 period) is so sanatized forget about it. Its way too mass marketed. Hip-Hop was still listenable in 2004(still not as good as 80's/90's rap though) but I can't stand the ringstone rap stuff that comes out now currently. In 2004 remember when you had songs like "Why?" by Anthony Hamilton and Jadakiss and "Jesus Walks" By Kanye West?


Yeah I didn't fully grow up on rap/hip hop either. Even though there were hip hop influences in music even in the late '80s, I don't think it started surpassing rock until 1995 (when I was 13-14). By then I remember alot of kids in my junior high were listening to rap, or I'd hear just as many white guys on the street blasting it.

Like you were, I was also more into pop/rock, alternative or adult contemporary in the early-mid '90s. There were a few hip hop songs I liked, like "This is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan.


One thing that was different back in the '90s was that it felt more gritty and real, like a portrayal of harsh street life or crime. Even though it's not really my thing, I can respect it for that. Since 2003 it started being more about money and bling bling than about art. Probably when 50 Cent came out. ;D

Yeah I didn't fully grow up on rap/hip hop either. Even though there were hip hop influences in music even in the late '80s, I don't think it started surpassing rock until 1995 (when I was 13-14). By then I remember alot of kids in my junior high were listening to rap, or I'd hear just as many white guys on the street blasting it.

Like you were, I was also more into pop/rock, alternative or adult contemporary in the early-mid '90s. There were a few hip hop songs I liked, like "This is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan.


One thing that was different back in the '90s was that it felt more gritty and real, like a portrayal of harsh street life or crime. Even though it's not really my thing, I can respect it for that. Since 2003 it started being more about money and bling bling than about art. Probably when 50 Cent came out. ;D

I'm not a huge hip hop fan, but I like some of the
I Don;t thinkin 1995 Hip-Hop surpassed rock in popularity. I was listening to Top 40 radio all summer in 1995 and there were no rap songs on that radio station expect for an old school jam like "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ Ez Rock. I think Hip-Hop's popularity was more even keel Ithink with rock though from 1997-2002 with Puff Daddy 1997-mid 1998 than Ja Rule and Nelly 2000-2002/2003. Hip-Hop's popularity didn't surpass rock until 50 Cent came out in 2003 though in my opinion.

Yeah I do remember a couple of kids in my freshman year of High School(1994-1995) were into hip-hop with 2 Pac but 2Pac was not all over top 40 radio like 50 Cent was 2003-mid 2005. Alternative Rock I feel was still more popular than Hip-Hop in 1995-1996. I do remember looking at a Billboard Chart from 1996 and the top songs of that year were from R&B artists like Keith Sweat, 112, and maybe New Edition(yeah New Edition did have a comeback there for a short while there.)

"This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan I always thought of it as more of a R&B/Dance song but not a rap song.

I Don;t thinkin 1995 Hip-Hop surpassed rock in popularity. I was listening to Top 40 radio all summer in 1995 and there were no rap songs on that radio station expect for an old school jam like "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ Ez Rock. I think Hip-Hop's popularity was more even keel Ithink with rock though from 1997-2002 with Puff Daddy 1997-mid 1998 than Ja Rule and Nelly 2000-2002/2003. Hip-Hop's popularity didn't surpass rock until 50 Cent came out in 2003 though in my opinion.

Yeah I do remember a couple of kids in my freshman year of High School(1994-1995) were into hip-hop with 2 Pac but 2Pac was not all over top 40 radio like 50 Cent was 2003-mid 2005. Alternative Rock I feel was still more popular than Hip-Hop in 1995-1996. I do remember looking at a Billboard Chart from 1996 and the top songs of that year were from R&B artists like Keith Sweat, 112, and maybe New Edition(yeah New Edition did have a comeback there for a short while there.)

"This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan I always thought of it as more of a R&B/Dance song but not a rap song.


Yeah, you're probably right now that I think about it. The mainstream was still dominated by pop, alternative rock and dance music for most of the '90s and even up to like 2002. Before then, it was more of an urban genre that still existed alongside the other stuff.

My goal of the thread was not necessarily to bash 2000's hip hop.  It was just a fact gathering mission.

It is obvious that for the past few years, hip hop is more popular than rock in the mainstream.  Unfortunately all the songs are about booty-shaking and lack substance.  But then again, the radio only plays songs that are backed by big money, right?  Therefore the songs with substance do not get played on the radio and do not sell albums.

Hip hop is a cash machine and white middle class America is primarily buying hip hop albums.  What does a white high school cheerleader have in common with a member of a street gang - nothing?  Therefore gansta rap and urban rap may not sell as well and are not particularly radio friendly.  Now regueton is infiltrating.

For this reason, i am surprised that Eminem is still the only real successful white rapper of the past decade.

Marty McFly what you say makes sense.  Hip hop was not the #1 music seller in the 80's and 90's like it is today.  It existed along side the #1 selling genres of rock and dance.  This enabled artists to use hip hop as a form of expression of the urban world.

My goal of the thread was not necessarily to bash 2000's hip hop.  It was just a fact gathering mission.

It is obvious that for the past few years, hip hop is more popular than rock in the mainstream.  Unfortunately all the songs are about booty-shaking and lack substance.  But then again, the radio only plays songs that are backed by big money, right?  Therefore the songs with substance do not get played on the radio and do not sell albums.

Hip hop is a cash machine and white middle class America is primarily buying hip hop albums.  What does a white high school cheerleader have in common with a member of a street gang - nothing?  Therefore gansta rap and urban rap may not sell as well and are not particularly radio friendly.  Now regueton is infiltrating.

For this reason, i am surprised that Eminem is still the only real successful white rapper of the past decade.

Marty McFly what you say makes sense.  Hip hop was not the #1 music seller in the 80's and 90's like it is today.  It existed along side the #1 selling genres of rock and dance.  This enabled artists to use hip hop as a form of expression of the urban world.


Well I am white and I can;t stand todays rap. Even in 2002 I was saying todays Hip-hop is not real hip-hop.

Yeah thats true I am surprised that Eminem is the only white rapper that has done really well in the past 10 years.

Um Hip-Hop is not the #1 seller anymore as far as albums go I don;t think anymore. I even posted a thread about that on these boards in the mid portion of last year that was titled "Hip Hop's popularity goes or falls futher down the spiral". I was saying in that thread that Hip-Hop album sales wise was behind genre;s like Country and Metal. As a matter fact sales of Hip-Hop sales dropped 21% from 2005 to 2006.

I think Hip Hops dominance was from 2003-2005. Hip did dominate 2007 but it was by one or two hit wonders(i.e. gmmicky rap artists.)

My goal of the thread was not necessarily to bash 2000's hip hop.  It was just a fact gathering mission.

It is obvious that for the past few years, hip hop is more popular than rock in the mainstream.  Unfortunately all the songs are about booty-shaking and lack substance.  But then again, the radio only plays songs that are backed by big money, right?  Therefore the songs with substance do not get played on the radio and do not sell albums.

Hip hop is a cash machine and white middle class America is primarily buying hip hop albums.  What does a white high school cheerleader have in common with a member of a street gang - nothing?  Therefore gansta rap and urban rap may not sell as well and are not particularly radio friendly.  Now regueton is infiltrating.

For this reason, i am surprised that Eminem is still the only real successful white rapper of the past decade.

Marty McFly what you say makes sense.  Hip hop was not the #1 music seller in the 80's and 90's like it is today.  It existed along side the #1 selling genres of rock and dance.  This enabled artists to use hip hop as a form of expression of the urban world.








What you said right there is why the reason why HIP HOP/RAP is dying and the why it is the way it is now.. YOU couldn't say it more clearly.

"Soulja Boy" is now claiming he's the hottest MC alive...hip-hop is so dead.

"Soulja Boy" is now claiming he's the hottest MC alive...hip-hop is so dead.


Why, because some jackass kid says he's the best?

I've said it before, and i'll say it again. You're not going to find any real hip hop music on your local top 40 radio station, or on MTV. Just like you're not going to hear any real punk rock.

But what you can do is turn your dial over to a local college station. We only have one local college station here, but they play hip hop, punk, rock, jazz that you will never hear on the advertising geared top 40 radio.

Real hip hop is alive and well. People just don't look for it in the right places.

Why, because some jackass kid says he's the best?

I've said it before, and i'll say it again. You're not going to find any real hip hop music on your local top 40 radio station, or on MTV. Just like you're not going to hear any real punk rock.

But what you can do is turn your dial over to a local college station. We only have one local college station here, but they play hip hop, punk, rock, jazz that you will never hear on the advertising geared top 40 radio.

Real hip hop is alive and well. People just don't look for it in the right places.


Well mainstream hip-hop is what I meant, of course there's still good stuff underground like everything else. Keep in mind I was being somewhat sarcastic as well.  ;)

Keep in mind I was being somewhat sarcastic as well.  ;)


No you weren't! You were genuine and true in your disrespecting of the greatest form of music to ever grace mankind's ears! And I, no WE (me and hip hop) both demand an apology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItTxwfhulY8